Yreka High Softball and Baseball: Mission Fieldpossible: It takes dedication to get rain-soaked fields ready for games

Tuesday

Apr 1, 2014 at 12:02 PM

Daily News Sports Editor Bill Choy@SDNBillChoy

The Yreka High softball and baseball programs were faced with a challenging situation on Saturday morning.Both teams had tournament games that morning but steady rains overnight had left the softball fields at YHS and the baseball field at Hibbard unplayable with standing water on the fields.Neither squad wanted to call the tournament games off so coaches, school staff and volunteers went to work getting the diamonds ready.While it took time to get the fields game ready, both tournaments went on with only minimal delays. After all, Yreka High softball coach Brian Wagy said, they didn't want the teams – some of which came a long distance to play – not able to get their designated games in.It helped tremendously to have volunteers, including a number of parents assisting with getting the field ready and helping to make sure the tournament was up and running, he said.“I had a great group of people helping me with the fields,” Wagy said. “We could not have done it without them. Everyone came together to get this done.”Wagy and his volunteers began working on the varsity field at 6 a.m. with the first game of the Miner Classic tournament scheduled for later that morning. Crews used kitty litter and other drying agents to soak up the water as they worked at a frantic pace to make sure the field was good to go. Wagy said that it helped that they put tarps out the day before.By the time the scheduled game came, the varsity field was ready to go.The JV field was in worse shape with deep pools of standing water in some spots that had to be pumped out, Wagy said.“We pushed hard to get that field ready,” Wagy said.The field crew went to work to make sure the JV field was in playing shape. Wagy and volunteers made finishing touches to the field as members of the Etna and Modoc softball teams anxiously awaited to take to the field. While there was a minor delay of around 30 minutes, the two teams were able to eventually take the field.“When Yreka runs a tournament we want the other teams to know we will do everything possible to make sure the girls are able to play,” Wagy said. “We are glad we were able to get all the games in.”It was a stressful situation for Yreka High head varsity baseball coach Jason Freitas on Saturday morning. At 10 a.m there was a Yreka versus Cascade Christian game scheduled at Hibbard as part of the Gold Nugget Tournament. With the conditions of the field it turned out they would not be able to play at 10 a.m. With concerns the field would not be ready and the cost it takes to get their teams up to Yreka, Central Valley and Enterprise of Redding decided not to compete in the final day of the tournament. Lassen also pulled out of the tourney due to weather concerns before the start of the event.Freitas said this was his 5h year putting the tournament together and all five years it rained and the tourney title game has not been played due to the weather all five years. It was decided that the Saturday games would continue with Yreka and Cascade Christian of Medford, Ore., playing a doubleheader starting at 12:30 p.m. Freitas said himself and John Howard and Bob Parker went to work to get the field ready.He commended the work Howard and Parker have done to keep Hibbard in terrific shape, which helped getting the field ready a much smoother process. He said those two do the vast majority of the field work and said he is grateful for their assistance.“They were making sure everything was dried out and would be ready to go,” such as using a leaf blower to get rid of standing water, Freitas said.Thanks to everyone’s dedication, Hibbard Field was ready to host a baseball game when 12:30 p.m. arrived.“We did everything we could to get the games in,” Freitas said.